Inside the New York Yankees clubhouse with MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch.

Girardi: Spring Training “won’t be completely boring”

Joe Girardi was the guest of honor last night at the Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle, N.Y., where Bernie Williams was hosting a charity event for the Hillside Food Outreach. With the Yankees’ roster nearly complete, Girardi can see some debates being settled when the team gets down to Spring Training.

“It won’t be completely boring,” Girardi said. “There will be some interesting competition.”

The Yankees need to figure out if Curtis Granderson is their center fielder or their left fielder, with Brett Gardner and Randy Winn fighting for playing time in one of those slots. Girardi said that he’d prefer to keep Nick Swisher in right field and not bounce him around, though the versatility of the outfield is a plus.

For the fifth spot in the rotation, as we know, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes will be going up against the likes of Alfredo Aceves, Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre. Chamberlain told the New York Post that he’s heading into the spring intent on gobbling up that fifth spot, but it’s very much open season.

“We’ll put the best guy that we feel can fill that spot and give us the best chance to win,” Girardi said.

By the way, some people have e-mailed asking if Girardi is wearing braces. Here’s the story – he agreed to get them in July as part of a deal with his daughter, Serena, who also needed them. Girardi had the top teeth only done during the season and has since had the bottoms added. Serena gets hers off next month, but the manager isn’t quite so lucky.

“I’ve learned that I really got the raw end of this stick,” Girardi said.

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